


Mile Markers and Wizarding Wonders

by dot_the_writer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: hp_nextgen_fest, HP Next Gen Fest 2018, Harry Potter Next Generation, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Post-Hogwarts, Road Trips, Sharing a Bed, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-06 17:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16391924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dot_the_writer/pseuds/dot_the_writer
Summary: James planned a road trip to see the Seven Wizarding Wonders and Teddy ends up coming along. Cue weeks and weeks of bed sharing, accidental cuddling, Teddy's musical selections, a bit of stargazing and lots and lots of figuring each other out during long drives across Europe.





	1. 51°10'44.0"N 1°49'34.3"W

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this prompt and immediately knew I needed to write it — hogwartsfirebolt, I hope I did it justice. Believe it or not, I actually did a lot of research for this, finding the perfect places. I then promptly made up a variety of fictions so the locations would fit the narrative. Huge thank you to my beta, L, for all your work in helping me to bring this piece together.

James spread the well-worn map out in front of him, the black pen marks like a spider web centered in Godric’s Hollow, marking all the places he had been. All the places he would go.

The summer heat came in through the window, heating James’ room, though he couldn’t be fussed to cast a cooling charm. He was too engrossed in the map, in the secrets these places had to offer. Hogwarts was out for the summer — for James, it was out forever, having just finished his last year. It had been a time of highs and lows, great happiness conflicting with his own internal feelings of melancholy.

In order to properly celebrate his graduation — and his lack of current career endeavours, much to his parent’s disappointment — James was setting off on the road trip of a lifetime. Starting in England, he and Gustavus, his car, were going to see the seven wonders of the wizarding world.

Most wizards saw cars as nothing more than metal death-traps, his nan included, but James’ parents were surprisingly okay with it. He figured he should have expected it, considering his dad grew up with Muggles and still had Sirius’ bike under a tarp in their backyard, and his mum really was Arthur’s daughter.

James had bought Gus, his well-loved, secondhand 1973 Datsun last summer, before he could even drive. It was on a whim, honestly, but he was walking through Devon with some friends and couldn’t pass up on the old 240z. He then took some time to get his Muggle driving license before going back to school for his seventh year.

He and his pop had gone to driving lessons together; Arthur’s love of all-things Muggle hadn’t faded with time, though no one thought it would. Molly had forbidden him from getting another car after the disaster that was the Ford Anglia, as she was convinced he’d blow the entire Statute of Secrecy, but Arthur still loved the whole driving experience.

And really, no one had to know that he’d driven James’ car once or twice around the backroads.

Gus was one of James’ most prized possessions. It had been parked at the Burrow for a while, and James and his pop had spent most of the previous summer tinkering with it, fixing all the little problems that had come with age. They took care of the rust and replaced the cylinder head, and restored the original paint job — a deep, metallic green.

James looked down at the map, excited for all that was to come. His honorary-Aunt Luna had added in a handful of places in purple pen, all somewhat along the way to his destinations, and told him the journey could be even better without such a strict timeline. He planned to take her advice, as she was usually right. Luna was hopeful he would see a Crumple-Horned Snorkack when in Sweden, and he had promised to find the nearest Floo and alert her if he did.

The idea of a road trip had been stuck in James’ head since Ted Thomas-Finnigan had been on one the summer between fourth and fifth year with his dads. Of course, James could Apparate anywhere he pleased, within reason, but that wasn’t the point. There was something romantic in the idea of a road trip, something beautiful in taking his time to drive through the countryside.

More than the trip itself, James was excited for the freedom. As the oldest, he’d always had a hard time asserting his independence from his parents; they oft gave him and Albus the same rules. This was the first time he’d truly be on his own: No parents, no teachers, it would just him and Gus — and miles and miles of pavement to traverse.

It seemed his thoughts of independence summoned his dad to the room, as there was a light knock on the door before Harry entered. James had Harry’s crooked smile, his knobby knees and his penchant for running his fingers through his hair when he was nervous. James was gifted with much more tameable hair though, and his mother’s freckles.

Harry sat on the edge of the bed, moving the map gently out of the way.

“You know I’m thrilled for you, right? It’s going to be a great adventure.”

“Yeah, Dad — and guess what?” James smiled at Harry. “I was able to fit in some of the places Aunt Luna suggested.”

“That’s great, James.” Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. His tone became placating. “I’m just worried about you, okay? I know you can handle yourself, but I’m your dad, and it’s part of the job to watch out for you.”

“Dad —”

Harry held up a hand. “James, I asked Teddy to go with you. I know I should have cleared it with you first, but I know how close the two of you are and I thought it would be perfect. He spent a lot of time with Muggles after Hogwarts; he can help you navigate if you get stuck or feel out of your depth.”

James’ heart sank. He remembered the time that Teddy lived with a few Muggles — it was three years wherein Teddy was distant, where James rarely saw him outside of family dinners at the Burrow. Three years where James grew up and Teddy wasn’t really there to see it.

Teddy returned from his time in London with a new nose ring and a handful of Muggle tattoos, his smile a little bit brighter. Gone was the ever-changing appearance that had defined his youth, and in its place, someone who was more true to himself. He rarely changed his eye colour, and stopped morphing his nose, slightly crooked from where James had hit him with a Quaffle when they were little. Teddy returned and was still the only one to call James “Jamie,” but there was a distance between them that they had yet to recover from.

Three years was a long time apart.

“It that all right?”

He had a moment where he thought about telling his dad off, telling him that no, it actually wasn’t bloody all right, but the moment passed.

“Yeah, Dad. That’s fine, I just wish —” _that you trusted me_ , James’ mind supplied. He knew that wasn’t the problem though. “— that you’d asked me first.”

“I know,” Harry said, and to his credit, he did sound apologetic. “I just thought it would be okay; you and Teddy have always been close. At least I didn’t invite myself along,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

James shrugged. “Not sure that would have been worse.”

Harry grimaced. “He’s downstairs, he wanted to talk to you about the particulars of the trip.”

“Okay,” James said, looking back down at his map. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

He felt the weight on the bed shift as Harry stood, listened to the creaking of the stairs as his dad made his way back to Teddy. James took a moment to compose himself; it had been a couple weeks since he had last seen Teddy, and the other man always seemed to take his breath away.

It was hard to remember a time when he hadn’t been hopelessly in love with Teddy, because, well, James wasn’t sure a time like that had ever truly existed. As a child, he loved Teddy with the exuberance of youth. He would bring Teddy his favourite flowers from Molly’s garden and make Teddy play Quidditch with him. James idolized him.

As a pre-teen and then a fully-fledged teenager, Teddy was his role model and featured in all of his late-night fantasies; love blurring the lines into lust, and still, Teddy remained at the center. Teddy was his best friend, his partner-in-crime, his confidante.

There had never been anyone else James had felt so strongly about, so certain about.

But that didn’t mean Teddy felt the same.

James sighed and flopped backwards on the bed, his head landing on the pillow. He didn’t want to face Teddy, didn’t want to go downstairs and pretend everything was fine and act like he was excited about this change of plans, but he knew his dad and Teddy were waiting, so he pulled himself together, folded his map, and made his way down.

The sound of Teddy’s laughter reached James before he made it to the kitchen. Like Teddy, it was loud and bright; the kind of laughter that made you want to join in, even when you had missed the joke — honestly, even if the joke was about you. It was infectious, all-consuming.

“Hey, Teddy.”

“Jamie!” Teddy turned, hesitation evident on his face. “You took so long, I thought you might not have wanted to see me. Your dad said you wouldn’t mind me tagging along?”

“Of course I want to see you, Teddy.”

Teddy’s hair was a pale lavender today. It shouldn’t have worked with his ratty, orange Chudley Cannons shirt, but somehow, it did.

“That used to belong to me, you know,” James said, gesturing at the shirt.

Teddy laughed. “And before that, it was Ron’s. Can’t complain to me when you stole it in the first place.”

James couldn’t help but grin; Teddy did have a point. “So, about this road trip. Sure you want to spend hours and hours in a car with me?” James pulled a face, trying to keep the mood light.

“As long as you don’t prank me like you used to do to Albus, then I think we’ll be good.”

“I don’t know if I could find enough Fire Crabs to pull that stunt again.”

Harry coughed, clearly trying to cover a laugh. “I never should have named you after two Marauders; I don’t know why your mother agreed.”

He grabbed his cup of coffee and let the room, still trying to conceal his grin. James had been in a hell of a lot of trouble at the time, but it was good to know his dad thought he was funny.

He spread his arms. “Well, Tedward, I make no promises.”

“Just know I’m older than you, and bigger, and I will retaliate,” Teddy said, his tone serious but his grin giving him away.

James smiled back. Maybe they could do this. Maybe it would be fine. Yes, he would be pining after his unattainable godbrother for the entire summer — and stuck in a car with him for hours on end — but maybe this would be fun. “All right, Teddy. We leave in a week.”

* * *

Whatever trepidation James felt, he was still looking forward to the trip. He had been planning it long before his N.E.W.T.s, with his map spread out in the Gryffindor common room. Many of his evenings were spent in the library, looking at the history behind the most magical places in Europe.

While there was no official list for the wizarding wonders, James had taken inspiration from Muggle counterparts and put together his own, determined to see them all.

As they packed the car, and Teddy’s backpack landed on top of James’ own, James couldn’t help but smile. Front and center was a bumblebee-shaped pride pin that was a gift from James when Teddy came out.

“Jamie, catch!”

James turned and caught the small bundle being tossed at him by Teddy. He opened the bag to find a handful of CDs.

“Teddy. How old are these? I don’t think my car can even play them!”

“Nonsense. We’re wizards, there’s a spell to make them compatible — and they aren’t old! I finished burning them the other day; I thought it’d be good to have some music for the trip.”

James rolled his eyes, his MagiPod a heavy weight in his pocket. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Teddy that he already had music planned — not when Teddy looked so excited — so instead he put the stack of CDs on the front seat.

After some (slightly tearful) goodbyes from Harry, Ginny and the Potter siblings, James and Teddy pulled out of the driveway of Godric’s Hollow.

James knew his family didn’t understand his need for the trip, his purpose behind it, but they were still letting him go — had been encouraging him to go, and that’s all that really mattered.

It took a few minutes for Teddy to flip through the CDs and peruse his choices. James thought it was mostly for his benefit — they were Teddy’s CDs, after all — but James let him make a show of it. Teddy had always leaned a bit toward the dramatic side, though it was probably hard not to when your hair colour seemed to be directly tied to your emotions. Subtle, Teddy was not. He slid one of the case and put it in the player.

“Every road trip has to start with a song by David Bowie,” he said over the music.

“Ted —”

“Jamie, I don’t make the rules, but we still need to follow them.”

James rolled his eyes but acquiesced. Teddy had always been more into music than James, listening to Remus’ old records in his room while James and Al played Quidditch in the yard. He had never officially lived with them, he was Andromeda’s charge, but the guest room in Godric’s Hollow had always unofficially belonged to Teddy. The weeks he spent there were always the highlight of James’ summer and the best part of winter hols.

He let the lyrics wash over him as they drove, tried to find the meaning behind the words.

_Still don't know what I was waitin' for_  
_And my time was runnin' wild_  
_A million dead end streets and_  
_Every time I thought I'd got it made_  
_It seemed the taste was not so sweet_

He had to admit, Teddy was right. It was the perfect way to start a road trip.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

Teddy Lupin could look like anyone, but sometimes, that made it hard to be himself.

His long nose had never been quite straight after James hit him with a Quaffle — he didn’t have the heart to tell Harry or Ginny and get James in trouble, so it healed like that. Leaning slightly to the left, and so he began morphing it away. He had a smattering of freckles across his cheeks and shoulders, but one of the boys he kissed at Hogwarts told him freckles looked like dirt, and so he began morphing them away.

His eyes were too bright and his hair not bright enough, his teeth crooked and his whole body too lanky.

He learned to check himself in the mirror every morning before he left, making sure the undesirable areas were covered, hidden, the real bits of himself tucked away with just a thought. Changing his appearance was a sleight-of-hand trick compared to what he could do with a wand, so Teddy thought it was fine. Thought he was doing everyone a favour by being a better version of himself, but eventually, he realised that came with a cost.

It was hard to get to know yourself when the version you presented to the world was lacking everything that made you special. Hard to feel accepted when the bits people liked about you were the pieces you spent time perfecting in the mirror every morning, instead of what you were born with.

As the music thrummed through the car, Teddy tried to remember what he was born like. Crooked teeth, straight nose (now leaning to the side). A smattering of freckles across his cheeks, his father’s eyes.

James had always liked his eyes when they were natural.

One of the reasons Teddy had always been drawn to James was because he was so unashamed of himself. He was born covered in freckles and they only seemed to multiply as he grew. They were like the stars in the night sky; Teddy could trace constellations into James’ skin if given the opportunity — and Merlin, he wanted the opportunity. James was the golden boy. More so than Harry, he didn’t mind the spotlight growing up. With two famous parents, he learned to deal with the press, learned to give them a cocky smile and walk right past, just as Teddy had learned to hide in the shadows.

He was the last of the Lupins, the last of the Tonks. One of the last Blacks, if he was permitted to count himself among their noble.

James was the embodiment of his namesakes, in the same way Teddy was his. James was brash where Teddy was quiet, James pulled pranks and Teddy was a prefect.

James was the sun and Teddy was the moon, circling the same sky yet destined to be apart.

Teddy knew he would do just about anything to let gravity pull them together — maybe that’s why he agreed to go on this barmy road trip in the first place. James was eighteen. He was a more-than competent wizard, the well-known child of Harry Potter. It’s not like James would be needing Teddy to cast spells or help him figure out directions.

The way Teddy saw it, James didn’t need him for much of anything, but he couldn’t bring himself to say no when Harry had asked.

And now, well, they’d been in the car for a couple hours, and they were nearing their first destination. After a few songs from the late David Bowie, the music had shifted, and they were now listening to The Arctic Monkeys.

“Jamieee,” Teddy sighed. “How much longer?”

James gave him a good-natured shove. “This is the fifth time you’ve asked in the past half an hour!”

“And?”

He laughed, and Teddy smiled. “Less than an hour. You better get used to long drives — the first few days are going to be easy, but we have some long legs to come.”

“I know, I know. So we’re checking into the hotel first, then heading out when it gets dark?”

James nodded. “Yeah, dawn is supposed to be the most magical time, so we’ll go out around half past three? Gives us a little while before the sunrise.”

Teddy groaned. “So early!”

“I know, but it’s technically closed to the public. Wizards are only allowed to enter when it’s dark enough that we can’t be seen — they don’t need more Muggle hippies damaging the intricate magic.”

“They did that?”

“Not on purpose, of course. Everyone’s drawn to Stonehenge, if you’re allowed to get close. Muggles just don’t realise why, so they can get a little crazy. Wizards recognise the deep-seated magic.”

Teddy nodded, and they fell into silence for a while. It started to drizzle, and Teddy watched as they passed by the little towns. The drive so far had been beautiful. Harry had never sold Grimmauld Place, but after the third time Teddy had stayed over and found a cursed object hidden in the shadows, Harry had decided it wasn’t a house he felt comfortable raising a child in.

After he and Ginny were married, they moved to Godric’s Hollow. It was close to the Weasleys, so Molly was thrilled, but far enough away that it did feel like their own place. Teddy spent much of his time there before starting school, giving Andromeda some time to relax from her rambunctious grandson. That time tapered off as he entered Hogwarts, but he still managed to be there during many of his school holidays.

What would it be like, he wondered, to live somewhere over here? They had taken a bit of a detour while driving, and passed through the East Devon Area of Outstanding Beauty. Luna had first fished for Freshwater Plimpies there, so the location came highly recommended. It was beautiful, and incredibly secluded. Would the city be overwhelming, if you grew up in one of the little farmhouses dotting the countryside?

A life like that was so foreign to Teddy, so unbelievable. He loved the city, went to London every chance he had. After school, he actually lived there for a while, in a flat with a couple of Muggles and a Squib. It was, for lack of a better term, safe. They just thought he was a bit eccentric and skilled with a bottle of hair dye.

He wasn’t Edward Lupin, the son of Remus and Tonks, casualties of a war he was too young to remember. He wasn’t the godson of the Saviour of the Wizarding World. There was no speculation that he was a werewolf hiding his powers through his metamorphmagus abilities.

It was nice.

He took a couple years off, away from the pressure that had unintentionally been put on his broad shoulders. Lost himself in the crowd of anonymity.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Whatcha thinking about?” James asked.

Teddy shrugged. “Nothing much.”

“Liar,” he replied. “You always get all scrunched when you’re overthinking.” He made a bad attempt at wrinkling his forehead.

“I don’t look like that, you prat.” Teddy paused, waiting a beat too long. “I was thinking about London. The countryside’s a nice change.”

James fell silent and fiddled with the music, turning it up.

Teddy knew he had said something to irk Jamie, but he wasn’t sure what. He didn’t know how to fix whatever it was that was broken between them, so they sat in silence, just the sound of Teddy’s CD reverberating through the car.

_Baby, baby, baby_  
_Your good old days have died_  
_Baby, baby, baby_  
_Now won’t you dry your pretty eyes_  
_Baby, baby, baby_  
_Your good old days are dead_  
_So come on_  


They were starting to see signs for Stonehenge and their hotel when James broke the silence.

“There’s a good chips place up the road, if you want to stop there before the hotel?”

“Sure, Jamie.” Teddy knew James only said it for him — while James had been on a health-food kick recently, Teddy would never turn down a beer and some chips.

And James was right, the place was delicious. It was a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, catering to the small number of locals and tourists looking to eat somewhere cheap. They got a couple of beers and an order of fish and chips to share. They relaxed, and whatever weird tension had come over them in the car seemed to dissipate with every sip of their drinks.

Teddy was starting to look forward to the trip again.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

Of course, dinner was great. Delicious. James actually let his guard down, started to relax. He and Teddy were joking like they used to — before Teddy’s time in London, before everything.

Then they got to the hotel.

James looked around the room, and realised a major flaw in this whole “get along with Teddy and pretend you aren’t totally in love with him” plan, which he thought had been working rather successfully so far.

It was a gaping hole of a flaw, a jump-in-the-Thames-without-knowing-how-to-swim level problem.

In the room was one bathroom, one little end table, and one fucking bed.

One.

To be fair, it was a massive, king-sized monstrosity. But because it was a huge bed and a regular-sized room, it wasn't like they’d even have room to put a rollaway.

His face burned, and he studiously avoided eye contact with Teddy.

And then he realised the worst part.

James hadn’t planned on spending the trip with anyone else (well, anyone else that would need a second bed). He hadn’t planned for Teddy to tag along, and because of that small oversight — failing to remember how overprotective his dad could be — none of the hotels would be booked for two beds.

They were on a fucking Muggle road trip, staying in a string of hotels that would only have one bed.

Fuck.

James heard Teddy start laughing. “Maybe I should have checked on the accommodations before I agreed to come along.”

“Fuck off,” James mumbled. It wasn’t his fault his dad had surprised him.

“It’s fine, really. I don’t mind sharing. Unless...” Teddy frowned. “Unless you do? I can always see if they have another room available.”

And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“No, don’t bother. We’re barely sleeping here anyway — we need to get up early.”

“Right. Like three in the morning, you said?”

“Yeah.” James nodded. He made no movement towards the bed, still staring at it.

He couldn’t believe it: As if spending a couple of months with Teddy, travelling in James’ Datsun and sharing hotel rooms wasn’t going to be hard enough, now they would be sharing a bed.

“Jamie,” Teddy said, his voice soft. “If it makes you uncomfortable, we can figure something else out.”

“No, it’s fine.” James knew he sounded stilted, sounded like this wasn’t okay. He couldn’t seem to shake off the surprise of the situation.

It’s not like he and Teddy hadn’t shared before — even when his grandparents expanded the Burrow with wizarding space, there were never enough beds for everyone. He was usually set to share with Albus, but Albus snored, so James would always end up sneaking into Teddy’s bed.

It was almost a tradition for them; Teddy would always leave the door unlocked and a soft   
_Lumos_ filling the room, waiting for James.

But that was before James could put words to his feelings, before he knew that the Wrackspurts in his stomach were more than innocent excitement at seeing his best friend.

Before Teddy had gone to London.

Before James had come out.

“I’ll just.” Teddy gestured vaguely to the bathroom before grabbing his clothes and walking in.

James hurried to throw on an old t-shirt and a pair of joggers, thankful that he planned ahead enough to have something to wear. He took one deep breath after the next. He could do this. He could do this.

Teddy stepped out, wearing an old Hufflepuff Quidditch shirt and his own pair of grey joggers. James loved him like this, especially — all soft-looking and ready for sleep. He couldn’t believe the domesticity as they both pulled down the corner of the duvet on their respective sides and prepared to get in.

He could do this. He could do this.

“G’night, Jamie,” Teddy said, his voice disconcertingly close in the dark.

“Night, Teddy,” James responded. He blushed, hoping Teddy missed his high his voice was.

It took ages to fall asleep; James could hear Teddy’s quiet, even breathing as he quickly succumbed to sleep. James was close enough that he could look at the light freckles across Teddy’s cheeks, watch as his hair — as it always did when Teddy slept — slowly changed from lavender back to his father’s tawny-brown curls. The colour spread slowly in sleep, starting at the roots and moving to the tips, like ripples in water.

He was beautiful.

James turned away — away from Teddy, away from temptation — and closed his eyes. It was weird enough to stare when Teddy was awake, but James knew it was infinitely creepier when Teddy was unaware.

* * *

James growled when his wand began to shake in the morning, his three a.m. wake-up call. It was pitch black in the room, and he didn’t want to move, didn’t want to lose the warmth of the bed, but he knew he needed to. It was the true start of their journey, the first of the seven wizarding wonders, and James was excited.

His wand alarm went off again and he shoved it off the bed, taking a moment to savour the weight of the duvet before throwing it off and getting dressed. Teddy, the lucky bastard, was still sound asleep, his rest uninterrupted from the sound of James’ alarm. James was quick to remedy that, throwing one of the pillows at him while pulling on his jeans.

“Oww, what was that for?” Teddy’s voice was soft and sleepy, and James refused to think about how they were sharing a bed.

“Rise and shine, Tedward. The darkness and the magic await.”

Teddy groaned, pulling the blankets closer around him. “Can you at least cast a warming charm?”

Laughing, James complied. “Now get up!”

It took a little while for them to get dressed; the summer heat had faded overnight, leaving them both with a need to pull on extra layers. Their hotel was chosen specifically because of its location — it was not only close to Stonehenge, but it was also a little out of the way of everything else.

James didn’t want to draw any attention to themselves, so they walked for a bit to find a deserted area before Apparating close to the monument of rocks.

Teddy had been there before, James knew that. Andromeda and Narcissa had made their amends after the war, so Teddy often spent time at Malfoy Manor, which was close to Stonehenge. For some reason though, James’ parents had never brought him, Al and Lily. While his dad may not have fully learned the significance — having been raised by Muggles (and sleeping through most of the History of Magic) — James was surprised that his mum never had the desire. She may not have thought James or his siblings would have cared enough to make the trip worthwhile.

But James did care.

Staring at Stonehenge, even in the dark, was magnificent. They started walking closer, and James could feel his magic interacting with that of the site. The rocks let off a steady, soft stream of magic, their tendrils reaching out and touching James’ own.

He’d never been so aware of what his magic felt like.

“This is amazing,” James breathed, his voice quiet as to not disrupt what was occurring around him.

He felt Teddy nod beside him. “I know. I was absolutely overwhelmed the first time I was here.”

They continued walking and made their way to the center of the circle. The magic was strongest there, as they stood on top of the crossing ley lines, but it also felt more protected. The circle seemed to keep out any noise, any wind, and they stood there in what James felt was a protective bubble of ancient magic.

“This is where wizards used to come,” James whispered. “Before wands, before there were really spells. They put these stones in place to harness the magic of the area.”

Teddy nodded.

“It’s said that the first wands were made out of rock, because people knew how effective sites like this were in allowing people to connect to their magic.”

“Why’d we switch to wood?”

James shrugged. “Someone realised that while the stones were able to hold magic in and connect to the earth, allowing people to harness it in the circle, wooden wands were better at connecting to individuals. We draw on the magic from within ourselves more than the ancient witches and wizards ever did.”

He felt Teddy look at him. “How do you know all of this?”

James shrugged again. “I did a lot of reading this past year — I wanted to be prepared for this.”

“I’m glad you are.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, standing in the dark in the middle of an ancient circle. James felt like his magic was being both drained and renewed, almost like he was leaving a piece of it in that circle, and taking a piece of the magic from there in its place.

It was unsettling, but also incredibly moving.

When the sun started to rise, the sky beginning to turn pink and orange, they walked out of the circle and Teddy held out his arm for James to hold onto.

“Ready?”

James nodded and took hold; Teddy Apparated them back to where they had left from, a grassy knoll not far from the hotel.


	2. 56°00'00.0"N 3°00'00.0"E

The plan was to go back to the hotel and get a few more hours of shut-eye, but James felt wired from the magic of Stonehenge. Even after they walked away, he could feel it mixing with his own magic, could feel something foreign — though not unwelcome — in his core.

Teddy managed to sleep for a bit, passing out as soon as they made it up the stairs to their room, but James couldn’t. He sat on the desk, his feet on the chair, casting _Lumos_ after _Lumos_ , the faint light causing the shadows to stretch across the room. He wanted to see if his magic was different, if it acted different, because it felt like it should.

Strangely through, it didn’t. His magic was the same, the effects of Stonehenge leaving no discernible trace.

When Teddy woke, bleary-eyed and yawning, they packed, then spent a bit of time exploring the small towns around Stonehenge. But before long, they were both ready to move on.

It was time for to start travelling towards their second destination.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

The next part of their journey was beautiful — Teddy chose the music again, this time starting with some Killers to help them wake up. He smiled as James started singing along, the chorus of Mr. Brightside reverberating through the car.

James gave him a general idea of where they were going, namely east, and Teddy took over driving while James looked at a few things on his phone. Teddy drove until they reached the ocean, the edge of the country, before James told him to pull over and park.

“We have a bit of time to kill before the ferry I booked us on.”

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

James just laughed and got out of the car.

“I’ll tell you where we are,” he said, walking away from the car. “Ever been to the Cliffs of Dover?”

Teddy couldn’t help but smile. He knew exactly where they were; he had been the one driving, after all. He’d never been here, but he had seen the White Cliffs from the French side, when travelling with Andromeda. She’d always loved the French countryside, and claimed that one could never have enough croissants.

“Come on, the closer you get the better the view.” James threw a mischievous smile back towards Teddy as he continued walking towards the Cliffs.

“I don’t think we’re allowed right at the edge, you know,” Teddy called after him before following. “They have a footpath for a reason!”

“We’ll just make sure no one sees us then.”

Teddy saw James pull his wand from its holster in his sleeve, and felt the magic of a Disillusionment Charm as it settled around him. He glanced around, making sure no one had seen. It would be just his luck, getting arrested by the Aurors before he and James had even left the country.

They ran to the edge, purely because they could. The wind pushed and pulled, as if it couldn’t decide to help them over the edge or keep them safe, but Teddy cast a few spells to make sure their feet would stay firmly on the ground.

It was a beautiful day, and Teddy revelled in the joy of spending it with Jamie. He hadn’t laughed that hard in ages, and he felt his breath catch when James looked at him, his hazel eyes so full of happiness.

It had been a long time since they spent time together like this, so carefree. Teddy had missed it more than he wanted to admit.

James’ own excitement was contagious, and Teddy couldn’t help but smile with him. He’d been stuck in a bit of a rut lately, and was starting to think this trip would do him some good. He and Jamie had been so close growing up, despite the age difference, but it was harder once he had left Hogwarts. Then more so, once he was thrust into the world, unprepared and a little scared.

Glancing over at James, he knew he could never be that confident — that sure of himself. James was easygoing in a way Teddy envied and admired.

They took the ferry that afternoon, catching it at Dover and taking it over to Calais.

The ride wasn’t long, but it was enough time for them to slip out of their car and onto the deck. They stood together at the bow, the wind whipping through their hair as they made their way through the Channel. It was cold and a bit wet, as soft raindrops started to fall, but they stayed there, holding their positions until the captain came over the intercom and asked everyone to return to their cars.

Teddy and James obliged, albeit slowly, making their way to the underbelly of the ship and back to Gus. It was a ridiculous name for a car, Teddy decided, a thought he voiced out loud to James.

“Buy a Muggle car, and you can name it whatever ridiculous name you have in mind,” James responded.

“I have no need for a Muggle car — I have you for that,” Teddy joked.

James laughed. “Then no insulting Gus!”

“Well, where is Gus taking us to now?”

“Amsterdam. Then we’re on another boat.”

Teddy nodded, fiddling with the music. “Another ferry?”

James shook his head. “A different kind of boat.”

“Why all the mystery surrounding our locations?”

James shrugged, his face buried in a giant map he had pulled from his pocket. Teddy couldn’t read it, couldn’t see where they were going, but he could tell the map was old and covered in pen marks. He realised it was special to James, and he knew he needed to be patient.

“Wherever it is, I’m ready,” he said, earning a smile in return.

They listened to Coldplay through France, and if Teddy cried when Fix You was playing, well, only James was there to see it. 

The rain stopped as they passed through the Northern part of Belgium, before entering the Netherlands, the miles flying by. James was quiet, thoughtful, and Teddy was trying hard not to push.

“Do you know why I wanted to do a road trip?”

Teddy looked at James, truly looked at him. James had one hand on the steering wheel and the window cracked, the summer air rushing over both of them.

“Why, Jamie?”

“I’ve never gone out and done anything on my own, not really. When I got into trouble as a child, it was because I was named after two Marauders. When I was sorted into Gryffindor, it was because my parents, and the rest of the family were sorted Gryffindor before me. When I made Chaser — which I worked my arse off for, by the way — everyone expected it because of Mum.

“Al and Lily get it, but neither of them are in Gryffindor, and I think that helps. It gave them a little freedom, a little respite, and I’ve never had that. I wanted to be somewhere where people didn’t know who I was before asking my name.”

Teddy nodded and rested his hand, just for a moment, on James’ knee. “I get it, I do.”

“I know. Which is why I’m trying not to be mad at Dad for inviting you along.”

“Are you? Mad, I mean.”

“No,” James sighed. “Maybe I was, a bit, at first. But it’s you. I can’t stay mad at you.”

He refused to make eye contact with Teddy, but Teddy knew James. Knew him well enough to trust his words.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Teddy spoke. “I’m glad I came, you know. Whether or not you really wanted me to.”

James laughed, and the mood was lightened.

Teddy meant it though. There were moments during which he questioned whether or not Jamie truly wanted a partner in crime for the journey, but either way, Teddy was glad to be there. Even if he didn’t quite know where they were going.

Teddy did know they were nearing the shore though; with every turn, he caught glimpses of the North Sea. They were almost there.

“Mermaids.”

“Mermaids,” Teddy repeated, not sure where James was going with this.

“We’re taking a sailboat out to one of the earliest known mermaid colonies.”

“Mermaids. You do know that they drag people to their deaths in the water?”

James had the nerve to laugh. Teddy thought it was a beautiful sound. “Yes, Tedward. But this colony is mostly abandoned —”

“That’s not inspiring confidence.”

“We have to stay away from the center, but we’re fine to explore the edge.”

“You’re going to get us both killed by the end of this trip, aren’t you?”

He earned a shrug and a cocky grin in response.

* * *

The sailboat was neat — although a bit frightening. Teddy trusted Jamie to drive a car and navigate the roads, but he made sure they both had their wands and extra life jackets before stepping on board the boat.

“It’s almost like you don’t trust me,” James joked.

“I can’t say that I do.” Teddy had been kidding earlier, but he was starting to think it likely that they wouldn’t be making it through the end of the trip alive. “Is there a reason the boat’s so small?”

“There’s only two of us, it didn’t need to be any bigger.”

Teddy sighed, and they set off. The water was more blue than anything Teddy had seen before; it was bluer than the sky, than Ravenclaw’s house scarfs. It was beautiful.

James, surprisingly, did know how to sail, at least enough that he and Teddy kept moving in the right direction, and neither of them ended up in the water. That didn’t mean Teddy was comfortable with it.

He had never been in such a small boat before, never had a reason to. That may have been part of the reason why Teddy had self-appointed himself to be in charge of looking for holes, convinced that the boat was going to start leaking and they were both going to drown. 

He clutched his wand in one hand and the life jackets in the other — they may be wizards, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“We’re not going to sink, you know,” James said, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the sound of the boat and the wind in their ears.

He laughed when Teddy looked offended.

“You keep scanning the boat, and you have a death grip on your wand. Relax! This is supposed to be fun,” he said, spreading his arms out to the side.

The boat lurched to the left and Teddy grabbed onto the side while James laughed and adjusted the sails

“You’re going to kill us both!”

“I won’t; I have this under control.”

“Jamieee,” Teddy pleaded.

“Teddyyy,” James mocked. “Promise, okay?”

Teddy took a deep breath. He’d never been able to refuse Jamie when he looked at him so earnestly. “Okay,” he replied, holding out his pinky.

James’ finger met his, and Teddy felt slightly better. They’d been making pinky promises since they were little, sitting in the dark and whispering their secrets back and forth in Godric’s Hollow.

It had to mean something that neither of them had ever broken one.

The sun was out; they had left England so early that it was still just mid-afternoon. James assured Teddy that they would have plenty of time to explore around the mermaid colony and get back before dark. The journey took a little while, but it was a nice change from sitting in the car for hours on end.

When James declared that they had arrived, the water underneath them didn’t appear to be any different than the water they had been boating over for the last half hour, but Teddy thought this may not be the best time to voice his opinion. James looked so excited; he didn’t want to ruin that.

“This place is known as ‘Doggerland.’ It used to be above water, connecting England to the continent, but was submerged during the last great Ice Age. It used to be sloping hills and forested valleys, but it all went underwater about six thousand years ago.”

Teddy hummed from his place lying on the boat, to show he was listening.

“Stick with me, it gets more interesting. So the mermaids had been living in the ocean, right? But they were competing for space with some really nasty creatures. When Doggerland went underwater, they were able to claim it as their own. Not only did no other sea creature already live there, but it was new terrain — they’d never seen trees like that before. We can’t get too close to where the mermaids still live, but the center of their colony is supposed to be amazing.”

“Now,” James said, making grabby hands at Teddy’s wand. He looked like an overexcited child. “Cast on me and I’ll do you? We just have to be quick.”

They charmed the sailboat to stay in place — that and their Bubblehead Charms the only magic James would allow them, for fear of disturbing the mermaids — and dived into the water beneath them. It was incredibly cold, and it took Teddy a moment to adjust to the temperature and the spell.

When he did though, the sight that greeted him was glorious. James was already swimming down, towards the ocean floor, but Teddy took a moment to look at the ocean life around him. There were several schools of fish beneath him, different kinds and colours. The water above him was greener than it had appeared from the boat, and he could see the faintest outline of something large beneath him.

And so he followed James.

What he had seen beneath him turned out to be a fallen arch, typical architecture for a mermaid colony. It had collapsed, yet remained mostly intact, nestled amongst the trees on the ocean floor.

The trees by themselves were impressive — it was clear that there had been a forest, however many years ago. The ocean floor was littered with tree trunks, some stumps still in the ground. They were overgrown with algae, the brown of the wood turned green with age.

Among the ruins of the forest were the ruins of the colony: The edge where James and Teddy explored had been entirely abandoned. There were the fallen arches, but more than that, there were scattered shells and broken spears. It was a bit haunting, eerie — as if all the mermaids had one day just deserted their homes, their land, and moved inward.

James seemed to agree; they couldn’t speak with words, not even with the charms, but he was moving with the same cautiousness Teddy employed, careful not to disrupt the layers of sediment beneath them.

* * *

The sailboat ride back was almost fun. Teddy had (mostly) gotten over his fear that James was going to sink them both — and even if they did lose the boat to the ocean, Teddy now had firsthand experience with the effectiveness of Bubblehead Charms.

Upon their return to shore, they took Gus and drove into downtown Amsterdam. Luna had told James that they needed to check out this old bar in the heart of the city — it was a wizarding place, apparently with a bad Wrackspurt infestation, but she still said it was worth seeing. And so they went.

It was a hole-in-the-wall place, heavily covered with Muggle-Repelling Charms to keep it hidden. The music was almost overwhelming when they walked in, not having been expecting it, but Teddy was impressed after taking it all in. There were coloured lights covering a couple of the walls and a small band playing in the corner. There was a dance floor set up on that side, and some high tables near the bar.

Teddy was pleasantly surprised to find the individual tables had Quietening Charms placed around them, lessening the noise of the band as they took their seats. James looked at him as they sat, knees bumping at the too-small table, a mischievous grin spread across his face.

“Firewhisky, Ted?”

“Trying to get me drunk, Jamie?”

“C’mon! It’ll be fun.”

Teddy knew it was a bad idea, knew he’d regret saying yes, but it didn’t matter in that moment. He couldn’t say no, not with James looking at him like that, not with the music and the lights and the happiness he’d been feeling the past week or so.

He sighed and nodded, James’ face lighting up as he realised Teddy was giving in.

“You won’t regret this — it’ll be great.”

“Jamie, I already regret that,” Teddy said. “Now go get the drinks.”

They each downed a shot, then another. It had been a while since Teddy had drank more than beer, and it had been even longer since he’d drank with James, who now seemed to be supplied with a never-ending supply of shots.

With each, Teddy felt looser. They were in a wizarding pub, so he didn’t have to worry about his hair changing colours — he always seemed to lose control of it when he started drinking. James’ knee was pressed against his underneath the table, though it seemed to become a stronger, firmer pressure with every shot.

More than that, Teddy started to notice the way Jamie looked at him. When Teddy threw back another shot, he couldn’t help but catch the way James’ eyes tracked the movement of his throat when he swallowed, couldn’t help but notice the way James blushed when making eye contact with Teddy afterwards.

It was a development he hadn’t foreseen, one he wasn’t sure he was actually seeing, considering how much alcohol he’d had to drink.

But whatever it was, it wasn’t necessarily unwelcome.

* * *

What was unwelcome was his hangover in the morning.

“Ugh, Teddy, am I dead?”

The noise came from somewhere to his left, but Teddy wasn’t certain, considering how far buried his head was in the sheets and blankets and pillows he had managed to amass during the night.

James groaned. “I think I’m going to chunder.”

That roused Teddy. “There’s hangover potions in my bag — front left pocket. Bring me one too, would you?”

He heard a loud crash and a few expletives from James before a small vial was being thrust into his hand and a heavy weight landed on his back.

He raised his head enough to swallow the contents, then reburied himself.

The weight on his back began to speak. “Why was I on the floor last night?”

Teddy tried to shrug, the movement hindered by James. “Why should I know?”

There was a moment of silence before James spoke. “I think I tripped when we walked in …”

“And?”

“Hmm, not sure. I guess I just didn’t want to move.”

Teddy couldn’t help but laugh.

“We should do that again — I told you that you wouldn’t regret it.”

Teddy rolled over, making eye contact with James, who was surprisingly chipper for someone who was just feeling so poorly. “I regretted it last night, and I definitely regret it this morning. Can we just go back to sleep?”

“No, Teddy — I want to see the sights!” James pouted, and somehow Teddy found himself giving in and shoving James off so he could get dressed.

Sleep was overrated: They had a city to see.

Their timeline was loose, which Teddy was thankful for. It meant they had time to sightsee without feeling rushed, time to stay an extra night or two in the places they were truly enjoying.

They rented bikes and saw they city — Teddy thankful for Harry’s tutelage, his insistence that his kids, all of them, learn how to ride a bike, and thankful for hangover potions (honestly, how did Muggles do it?). They saw the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank house, biked through parks and relaxed on beaches.

The summer felt endless, stretched out in front of them, waiting to be taken. Time meant nothing and they had the freedom to do anything.


	3. 48°51'49.0"N 2°21'11.0"E

Paris was one of Teddy’s favourite cities. He found safety in large cities, found anonymity. It was something Andromeda had understood, and was probably one of the reasons she had brought him here so frequently as a child.

They had a mutual understanding about that: Sometimes you didn’t want to stand out. Sometimes, you wanted to forget who you were, where you had come from. Andromeda grew out of that, a bit, as she and Narcissa reconnected and the memories of the war faded into the recesses of people’s minds, but Teddy was still very much in that mindset.

It was why he had spent so much time in London.

There was a beauty in not being recognised. His French was passable, Draco and Narcissa had made sure of that, claiming it was tradition for him to learn, but that wasn’t why he felt connected to the city. He knew the streets, could navigate the twists and turns to find the best bakeries, knew what parts of the city had the best restaurants and which had the best nightlife.

He could go out one day as himself, and the next while morphing all of his features, and it didn’t matter. No one knew who he was. No one cared.

The drive from Amsterdam to Paris wasn’t bad at all. They were free to have a lie-in before waking up and getting out on the road, then it was just a short five hours or so before they were in the next stop on James’ list. Teddy still hadn’t seen the map, but James let him drive again, and there was a certain amount of trust in that.

He had learned to drive when living in London — while it was true that the Tube could get you just about anywhere, the Muggles he was living with thought it was strange he had never so much as set foot in a car.

The Squib had taught him; she was best able to explain the mechanics of the car in terms Teddy would understand, relating the functions of the pedals to spells her parents had once tried to teach her. They had actually made the drive from London to Paris over a long weekend while she taught Teddy how to drive stick; he still stalled anytime he tried to stop.

It was strange to be in Paris with Jamie, who was so wild and enthusiastic about everything. He was different than anyone Teddy had ever met, different even from the members of his own family. James had Ginny’s confidence, her sense of adventure and fierceness, combined with Harry’s loyalty and recklessness. He had never been shy or afraid to speak his mind — even when James was just a first year, Teddy remembered his mouth getting him into quite a bit of trouble.

They were so different, he and James. There was something about James; even among the tourists, he stood out. He was uninhibited, free in a way Teddy had never been able to relate to.

“C’mon, Jamie,” Teddy said, grabbing James’ hand and leading him down a narrow street. “Flamel’s house is this way.”

He caught James’ expression out of the corner of his eye, a mix of confusion and nerves, and quickly dropped the other man’s hand.

Teddy didn’t know what he was thinking.

James, showing his Weasley heritage, blushed bright red, the splotches trailing down his neck.

“Okay,” he said, looking anywhere but Teddy. “Lead the way.”

And so he did. Teddy led them down cobblestone backroads, past coffee shops and under laundry lines, James hurrying behind him and he moved through the streets. There was a familiarity with Paris, a feeling that if he trusted his gut he could always get to the right place.

The journey from James’ parked car to Flamel’s house wasn’t long, and before Teddy knew it they were there.

James paused, staring at it in awe. “This is where he lived — where he created the stone.”

“I’m surprised it’s so busy.”

“Most of these people are Muggles, you know,” James said, careful to keep his voice down. “They love the story of Flamel, though they think the stone is just a myth.”

Teddy nodded. “It’s wild to me, the things they believe and the things they think are too fantastical to be true.”

“It can be hard to believe in things you can’t see; hard even to believe in people after they leave,” he said, his voice almost wistful. But before Teddy could dwell, could ask for an explanation, James was already moving on. “C’mon, let’s go in! I’m actually starved, then we can go to the back room.”

“You’re always hungry,” Teddy laughed.

James shrugged and walked into the restaurant.

They had a delicious meal, and after paying, both slipped to the back. There was a small room, acting as a storage space, but the brick wall on the left was suspiciously bare. It took five sharp taps of James’ wand to open: the off-colour brick in the middle, two taps on the one above it, the brick three to the right, then two final taps on the first.

The wall pulled away like the one in Diagon Alley, folding in on itself to create a small pathway. It wasn’t as impressive, perhaps, but it had its own appeal: This was the room where the Philosopher’s Stone was created.

They were standing in history.

Teddy could see the awe, the weight of where they were, spread out across James’ face and could feel the same expression gracing his own features.

There was a large workbench taking up most of one wall, the wood stained from chemicals and potions having been spilled on it over the hundreds of years it was in use. Everything else had been cleared out when Flamel died, but that didn’t matter to Teddy or James. The very room they were standing in had witnessed one of the greatest magical accomplishments of all time — knowing that alone was enough.

Teddy wondered if James was thinking of his father, of all the trials and tribulations Harry went through while at Hogwarts. He wondered what it would have been like to meet Nicolas Flamel, to speak with someone who was hundreds of years old.

And this was the room where it all started.

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there for, examining the faint carvings in the workbench and the magic embedded in the walls, but it was long enough. Eventually, James sighed and nodded, then made his way out, with Teddy following a moment later. The wall closed behind them, seamlessly, and it was again like the room didn’t exist.

Teddy wondered if there would ever be a time in his life wherein he wasn’t in awe of magic, of all it could do.

He mentioned that to James, as they exited the restaurant. “You would think that growing up as a wizard — raised by wizards, I would expect magic.”

James nodded, thoughtful. “I get it though, like you expect it to still have limits.”

“I was shocked, when I was living in London, the number of times I wanted to pull out my wand. Muggles have such complex ways of doing things — it takes them an hour to do something we can do with one spell.”

“Why didn’t you stay? If London was so great, I mean,” James asked, his voice harsh. The question seemed genuine, but Teddy was surprised by the venom behind the words.

“It was great, for the time being,” Teddy answered. He could hear the wistfulness in his own voice. “It’s a beautiful city, you know, but —”

“Cool. Brilliant. Glad you had so much fun.”

Teddy could feel his own temper rising, could feel the stares from passersby they were beginning to attract. He grabbed James’ arm, his grip just on this side of too tight, and hauled him down the street and into a little alleyway.

“Why are you being such a prick?”

James sighed; he wouldn’t meet Teddy’s eyes. “I’m not being a prick,” he mumbled.

“I thought we were having a good time.” Teddy didn’t want to fight. Not here, not with Jamie. “What just happened?”

“You always sound so fucking nostalgic when you talk about London!” James exploded. “London this and London that — did you even miss me?”

Teddy was taken aback. “Course I missed you — Jamie, is this really what you’re upset about? Me having lived in London for a few years?”

“You left, Teddy.” The anger was gone, and James looked so young, standing there with his back against the brick, avoiding Teddy’s gaze. He looked lost and so alone, and Teddy hated himself for putting that look in James’ eyes. “You left us, you left me. You didn’t even come for winter hols when I was home from school, family dinner — did you know I put out a place setting every year on Christmas? I wrote you letters, and you just ignored them.”

“Jamie —”

“I get it, Teddy. Just forget it.”

Teddy couldn’t forget it, didn’t want to — clearly this was something they needed to talk about, but he could also recognise that James was done with it for now.

For the time being, it was better to move on.

“What else do you want to see in Paris, Jamie? I can be your personal tour guide.”

“Know any good restaurants?”

Teddy couldn’t help but laugh. “We just left one, actually.”

“I’m serious —”

“Yes, you are.”

Name jokes always earned Teddy a huff and an eye roll. He liked to imagine that his dad received the same from the original Sirius.

“We stood in Flamel’s room for ages, and,” James shrugged, “arguing always makes me hungry.”

“Fine. There’s a great crêpe stand down the road, would you want to go there?”

James smiled, all of his cockiness back. “Lead the way, Tedward.”

They ended up spending the evening sitting on a set of cobblestone steps near the cart, eating way too many crêpes, filled with butter and sugar, and licking their fingers as it spilled out. They were laughing and eating, hanging out as Teddy had hoped they would on this trip.

Things weren’t fixed, but they were better for the moment, and Teddy would be grateful for that while he could. There was a conversation they needed to have, and it would be rough, but as they sat there — James working to set a new record for most crêpes eaten in one sitting — Teddy was glad it wouldn’t be tonight.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

Looking at the room they were staying in now, James knew the universe must be punishing him. Maybe it was for his unadvisable crush on Teddy, maybe it was for that prank he pulled on Al with the Fire Crabs — whatever it was, the cosmos was intent on extracting revenge.

He wouldn’t say they had a fight; wouldn’t use language quite that harsh to describe his own outburst earlier, but there was a tension between the two of them tonight that hadn’t existed before their conversation that afternoon.

It appeared that would be about the only thing between them — James had been intent on travelling cheap, and the booking in France was tiny. Minuscule. The entire room was taken up by the twin size bed and the bathroom. Unless one of them wanted to sleep standing, or nestled in the too-small bathtub, it appeared they’d be sharing a bed that was barely enough space for one of them.

“You want me to check at the front desk? See if they have another room?” Teddy’s voice came from over James’ shoulder.

“No point. They said they were full when I grabbed the key, you were still getting stuff from Gus.”

James felt Teddy nod behind him.

“Okay then, looks like we’re sharing.”

He appreciated the no-nonsense way Teddy addressed things, the way he looked at a problem — or in this case, a potentially awkward situation — and figured out a solution. Even if the solution was incredibly obvious.

“It’ll be just like in the Burrow.”

“Yeah, when you used to sneak into my bed.”

“Not my fault they kept trying to stick me with Al — you know how bad he snores.”

Teddy laughed as he stepped in, dropping his bag on the floor. “The whole house knows how bad he snores.”

It was true; there were no secrets in the Burrow.

James changed in the bathroom and by the time he came out, Teddy was already pulling down the duvet and slipping in. Before this trip, they hadn’t shared a bed in years, and James would be lying if he said it didn’t mean something to him that Teddy remembered he preferred sleeping on the outside.

“Goodnight, Jamie,” Teddy mumbled, his voice already heavy, full of sleep.

“Night, Teddy,” Jamie responded, a muttered “ _Nox_ ” plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

His first thought upon waking was that he had slept better that night, crammed into the tiny bed with Teddy, than he had in ages. Definitely better than any other night thus far on the trip.

He hadn’t felt so well-rested in ages, which may be why it took James so long to realise exactly why he was so comfortable.

Consciousness came slowly, his thoughts filtering in through the last vestiges of sleep. But when he tried to stretch, it became clear what was had happened: At some point during the night, Teddy had rolled over from his position facing the wall and had wrapped himself around James.

James tried to catalogue where Teddy’s limbs were, all the while trying not to move — he told himself he didn’t want to scare Teddy, wanted to figure out the situation and then make a plan, but the truth was much simpler. With Teddy’s arm wrapped around his stomach, Teddy’s legs intertwined with James’ own, James didn’t want the moment to end.

So focussed on Teddy, it took another moment to realise he was hard. It was unsurprising, considering that he was not only sharing a bed with his long-time crush, the man he’d been in love with for years, but they were cuddling like a domestic couple. And based on their positions, it seemed Teddy was the one to blame.

What was more surprising was that Teddy was aroused too — James could feel Teddy’s hardness as it pressed against his arse, a warm weight, a reminder that Teddy wouldn’t be here if he was awake.

The thought was like a bucket of cold water on James, dousing the growing sparks of excitement, reminding him that this — whatever this was, could be — wasn’t real. Teddy wouldn’t have his arm against James’ ribs, wouldn’t place his knee between James’ by his own volition.

Teddy was asleep.

As if he knew James was thinking of him, Teddy shifted, burrowing his nose further into the crook of James’ neck, pulling James’ body even closer to him own.

It was torture.

James focussed on his breathing — in, out; take a moment, then in, out.

Teddy began to rut against him, slowly rolling his hips and James couldn’t take it anymore. He knew that if he allowed this to continue, he’d end up doing something they both regretted, like kissing Teddy, or rolling over and offering to help Teddy with his obvious problem.

Something like that would ruin everything.

He scrambled to get out of the bed, pulling the duvet with him and falling on the floor with it wrapped around his ankle.

He sat, stunned for a moment.

“James?” Teddy’s face appeared over the edge of the bed, because it was just James’ luck that he’d have woken up. “Are you okay?”

“Great,” James squeaked, as he pulled himself free. He could feel his face as he blushed, the heat spreading across his cheeks and down his neck. “Totally fine — just headed to the bathroom.”

Teddy gave him a look, which made it clear that he wasn’t buying it. He started to get up before thinking better of it — and James hated that he knew why Teddy didn’t want to climb out of bed to check on him, because he had felt the reason hard against his back just a few minutes ago.

To avoid any further awkwardness, James made the most adult decision he was capable of and ran to the bathroom, where he proceeded to lock the door and wank in the shower.

They had talked about spending a few extra days in Paris, Teddy acting as the tour guide and showing James around, but after that, The Incident — the cuddling and its aftermath, James was more than ready to leave. He consulted the map, checking the roads and the cities between Paris and their next destination, then he was ready to go.


	4. 45°22'54.8"N 12°19'52.3"E

The drive was quiet; it was clear neither of them had much to say.

Teddy took charge of the radio while James drove. Rain was falling, large droplets splashing against the windshield, just enough that James needed to turn on the wipers.

It was summer, but the car felt cosy as they drove, dry and warm. Outside was drizzly, it looked cold, and James was glad they had a long day ahead of them. They sat there, passing a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans back and forth between them, the soft sound of Teddy’s music filling the car.

_I am not afraid_  
_I am terrified_  
_The water’s rising_  
_I can’t see the light_  
_This automatic system’s shutting down_  
_We’re going down, down_

It was about four hours until they reached Frankfurt, where they stopped for coffee. James thought about asking to stay longer, taking some time to explore the city, but there was a sense of safety in the car. They didn’t have to talk while driving, didn’t have to address any of the issues that were beginning to suffocate the both of them.

In the car, they could be anyone and anything. They could relax, sing along to Teddy’s CDs and James could pretend he wasn’t searching for a deeper meaning within the lyrics. He was though, Merlin — with every song, James found himself questioning why Teddy had chosen it, why he was playing that song, in that order.

Confusion over the choice of music aside, James knew, for some reason, that if they fought it wouldn’t happen while they were driving. So they kept going, hopping straight back on the road after their cups were empty. More rain, more lyrics and more pretending. It was uncomfortable, but it was safe, and at the moment, it was what James needed.

_Bring me in_  
_I’ll never let you down_  
_Cause when you’re lying there_  
_My body makes a sound_  
_I wanna love you with the lights on_  
_I wanna love you after dawn_  
_I wanna tell you that my body bends to hide it_  
_But my heart it can’t deny_

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

It was another three and a half or so hours to Zürich, where they decided they would spend the night. Teddy noticed that James couldn’t stop yawning, so he thought it may be best to finish the drive to Italy in the morning, when they were no longer struggling to stay awake.

They hadn’t planned on the extra night — not that James was too fussed about keeping a schedule, but they didn’t have a reservation set. Luck was on their side though, at least for the moment, and Teddy was able to find a hostel with a couple of available beds.

Two travellers, two beds. He made sure of that.

James hadn’t mentioned anything, but Teddy had just been starting to wake up before James fled, falling out of bed. And he had felt James pull himself out of Teddy’s embrace.

Teddy hadn’t meant to cuddle James during the night, but the bed was so small and he wasn’t used to sharing a space like that with people he wasn’t romantically involved with. He hadn’t meant to make James so uncomfortable, hadn’t meant to make things awkward between them.

He figured the best thing would be to keep a bit of distance between them, at least as much as he could, so James would know it was an accident. Teddy wouldn’t do anything on purpose to jeopardise their friendship or the easy way they interacted. There was no one else he could laugh with so freely, who he could joke around with and truly be himself.

No one he cared about like he did James.

Even with his other friends, he always felt like he was hiding a piece of himself. The Muggles in London didn’t know he was a wizard, his friends from Hogwarts didn’t know him the way Jamie did, didn’t get to see him grow up or relaxed with family at the Burrow.

There was safety in keeping people at arm’s length, doling out just enough of yourself that they thought they knew you, while you kept all the real pieces of yourself hidden. Only James knew the bone-deep ache Teddy got whenever he thought about his parents — not even Harry or Andromeda were privy to that; they were always so sad when he mentioned his folks, both unfairly placing the blame on their own shoulders.

They arrived at the hostel just as night was falling, the darkness beautiful over the water. The hostel was nothing special, but the sight of two empty beds was like a lifeline for Teddy, just what he needed to get through the end of the day and forget about The Incident.

He didn’t notice the quick flash of disappointment as it graced James’ features.

* * *

Morning was good, calm. They both woke well-rested and ready to continue on. James was back to his usual, chatty self and as they got in the car, he was ready to tell Teddy all about their next stop.

They drove down from Switzerland into Italy, east towards Poveglia Island.

“Muggle ‘ghost hunters’ and other paranormal researchers love this island — they believe it’s haunted,” James started to explain. Teddy laughed as he used exaggerated air quotes around his words. “Locals believe it’s haunted too, but are much more cautious of it; the Venetians refuse to set foot on the island and fishermen avoid the waters around it.”

Teddy nodded, smiling. He loved how animated James would become when he talked about something he found interesting.

“The island’s seen so much death, I think that’s where most of the haunted rumours started. It was used as a quarantine area for two separate deadly outbreaks — the Bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century, then the Black Death in the sixteen hundreds. The island had been inhabited starting around four hundred twenty, but was completely abandoned by the first of the deadly outbreaks.

“There wasn’t any hope for the people quarantined there,” James said, his voice becoming grim. “You were sent to die.”

Teddy nodded, his thoughts whirring at the unfairness of it. He knew that Muggle medicine was eons behind the wizarding alternatives — not that it would ever have the chance to catch up, but the idea of sending people to an island to die made him sick.

“More recently than that,” James said, “it was also used as a mental hospital. Apparently, the doctor in charge performed horrible, medically-controversial procedures on his patients. It’s said that he killed himself on the island after becoming unable to tolerate the spirits that lived there.”

The image that invoked caused Teddy to shudder. He’d never been good with scary stories or twisted things. He wasn’t necessarily looking forward to this stop on the trip, but it was important to James that they went.

They arrived in the outskirts of Venice, where they rented a boat and set off through the city and out to the island. None of the locals wanted to take them, but James had been expecting that.

“Why did you pick this location? I mean,” Teddy said. “For a road trip exploring the magical sites around Europe, this doesn’t seem to count.”

James squirmed a bit. “Well, it was also used to quarantine werewolves during the full moon. Legend has it that after the island was abandoned, the local wizarding population decided it would be a good place to put the werewolves for a night when they transformed. Werewolves weren’t quite so persecuted then as they are now; they weren’t accepted, but they weren’t killed outright.”

“Most werewolves can swim, Jamie,” Teddy felt his voice grow tight. “As long as the human can, the wolf can.”

“I never said it was the most effective idea. But it took them away from the smell of humans, and there were usually two or three placed there at a time, so they were distracted enough by each other that it often kept the wizards and the Muggles on the mainland safe.”

Teddy nodded, feeling slightly nauseous.

“That’s how the island first got the reputation for being haunted. Then they started putting the plague victims there as a quarantine, and the idea of the island being haunted only seemed to gain ground.”

“It’s not that different from the Shrieking Shack, is it? At least in theory?

James was quiet for a moment as they neared the island. “No, I suppose not.”

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

The reached the island, and while it looked beautiful — green trees and the Adriatic Sea surrounding them, James could feel something more sinister as they walked onto the land mass. His fingers were itching to pull his wand, and he could feel Teddy wanting to do the same next to them.

They were both quiet when they spoke, whispering their words, hesitant to break the silence of the island. It was so different from any of the places they had been so far. Stonehenge had been full of magic, so much that they could feel it on the skin, interacting with their own magic, and it was similar at Poveglia. But here, it felt like there was an infection trying to enter their bones, a dark magic looking for a way to enter their magical core.

It was like pins and needles after your leg falls asleep, stepping on gravel with bare feet. It was uncomfortable.

The abandoned mental hospital had a window broken on the first floor, and with a backwards glance to Teddy, James entered.

“Jamie,” Teddy breathed. James felt Teddy’s presence behind him, a reassuring weight as they stared upon the room they entered.

“It’s a morgue.”

The place was covered in graffiti, the bright colours jarring with the room itself, the crumbling bricks and the metal pull-out beds still attached to the walls. They kept moving, not wanting to stay there for any longer than necessary.

The graffiti was a theme throughout the asylum, covering the majority of the walls. Much of it depicted birds — large, black crows and ravens. James caught Teddy running his fingers across a particularly dark one.

“The plague doctors used to wear masks,” James explained. “They believed the disease was airborne, so they created these masks that had a bird-like beak attached. The beak would then be filled with dried flowers, herbs and spices to keep the doctor from falling ill.”

“Did it work?”

“Probably not; seeing as they didn’t understand how the plague was actually spread. There’s debate as to if doctors truly wore them in the first place, but the symbol has stuck.”

They climbed upwards, finding shattered mirrors and remnants from when the hospital must have been occupied. There were a handful of beds, many sitting eerily in the middle of the room, as well as some clothes and even a few straightjackets.

It wasn’t long before they had both had enough. With every noise, James felt himself a step closer to drawing his wand, outing them both as wizards and Apparating them the fuck out, so he figured it was time to make their exit.

They went and sat under some trees — far away from the entrance to the hospital, and basked in the sunlight. The trees were tall and old, and they wandered through them after recovering enough from the shocks of the asylum.

James was a few steps behind Teddy when the other man suddenly dropped to his knees in front of a fallen tree. In an instant, James had his wand out and was by Teddy’s side.

“Teddy — what’s wrong?”

His face was ashen as he spoke. “James, do you see the claw marks?”

James placed a hand on Teddy’s shoulder and looked at the rotting tree, where he saw a handful of old, deeply-embedded claw marks gracing the bark.

“When did they stop using this place to quarantine werewolves?”

“I’m not sure,” James said, his voice soft. “I’m honestly not. But these could belong to . . .” he trailed off. There weren’t bears on the island, no regular wolves. It had been a werewolf, they both knew that. There was no reason to lie; it would be an insult to them both.

* * *

James knew there was something going on with Teddy — had been, all afternoon. But that didn’t mean he was prepared for Teddy to start sobbing the minute they made it back to the hotel room that evening.

He slid to the floor inside the door, tears already streaming down his cheeks as he struggled to breathe through his sobs.

Immediately, James fell into his protective-older-brother role.

“Hey, Teddy. Come ‘ere, let’s get you on the bed.”

James grabbed Teddy by the elbows, helping him stand and laying him in the bed. It was a bit awkward, but James was unconcerned by that: His sole focus was on Teddy. He grabbed some tissues from the en suite and climbed into bed with Teddy, laying on top of the blankets and wrapping himself around the other man, who was still shaking.

“It’s okay, I’m here with you. Whatever it is, we can talk when you’re ready, just know that you’re safe.”

“It’s just — _hiccup_ — not fair,” Teddy choked out.

James rubbed soothing circles across Teddy’s back as the sobs started to cease.

“What’s not fair, love?” He felt his face blush, and hoped Teddy would ignore the term of endearment.

Luckily for James, it seemed Teddy was worked up enough that it didn’t faze him.

“They shipped them out onto an island, James! That was their solution,” he said, as he wiped away his tears. “They were people, and the solution was to send them to an island where they could be mistreated.”

“I know, it wasn’t fair. This was hundreds of years ago though —”

Teddy wrenched himself from James’ arms and sat up, looking down at him. “It’s not though, that’s the point. We don’t know when they stopped using the island for that, for werewolves.” His voice was quiet as he continued, “And they did the same thing to my father, don’t you see?”

“The Shrieking Shack,” James said, as understanding dawned.

“They put him in a literal shack, Jamie.”

“It’s not fair, I agree, but I think at the time, it was the best they could do. Wolfsbane wasn’t invented until the mid-1970s — and at least your dad had the rest of the Marauders.”

Teddy sighed, breathing deeply as he rubbed his eyes.

“He wasn’t alone, Teddy. At least not at school; he had my dad, and he had Padfoot to play with.”

“It just . . .”

“Seems inhumane? I’m not arguing. I’m just saying that they probably didn’t have an easy solution. They may not have been right in what they did, but think of the progress we’ve made sense. That should count for something, right?”

“When did you get so smart?”

James shrugged. “I’m here if you ever want to talk about your parents, you know. I may not have met them, but that means I’ll believe whatever you say about them,” he said, smiling.

“Cheers, Jamie. I really appreciate it.” Teddy reached out and gave James a hug before pulling away. “I’m going to take a quick shower, you almost ready for bed?”

James nodded. The last hour or so had been emotionally draining, especially since the rest of the day had already been so much. He was exhausted, and he knew Teddy was as well.

Teddy made his way to the bathroom, and James quickly pulled on a pair of joggers before burrowing in the blankets and falling asleep.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

If it had been anyone else, Teddy would probably have been embarrassed in the morning. He rarely cried, and he very rarely spoke about his parents to anyone besides Andromeda.

But it wasn’t anyone else: It was Jamie.

Teddy had been relieved that James was asleep when he returned from the shower, worried that the conversation would continue. But it hadn’t, and even in the morning, James seemed to sense that Teddy didn’t want to discuss it. Still, Teddy could see the surreptitious glances James was throwing his way, making sure he was okay. That was fine; Teddy knew it came from a place of love.

They called room service and got a full English breakfast before they left, piling the plates of bangers and beans on hills and divots in the blankets.

It was cosy, and they sat on the bed, nestled in with the food and ate their fill.

“Jamie, what’s the next stop?”

James looked up, mouth full of eggs, a shrewd look in his eyes.

He took a second to respond. “Do you want to see the map?”

Teddy felt like the moment was made of glass, that one wrong move would shatter it. He nodded. “I’d love to.”

James held out his hand, a whispered _Accio_ on his lips, and the map came flying out of his backpack, carefully folded along creases that were beginning to rip from wear. He moved the food out of the way before spreading it out in front of them.

The map was covered in harsh black lines and circled areas, two solid sets of handwriting combining across the countries, and some random sections in another scrawl. Teddy wanted to ask, but he thought it was important to wait, to allow James to find the words and explain it himself.

“I found it, when I was with my dad at Grimmauld Place a few years ago. He’s been working to clean the house out for years; it’s a good way for him to destress after Auror missions, but he rarely invited the rest of us along.

“But he asked me if I wanted to come that day. Kreacher — the daft old thing,” James said fondly, “is still at Hogwarts, but comes whenever Dad goes over. They were sitting in the kitchen, making tea, and I went up to Sirius’ room. It’s barely been touched since he lived there, and I found this buried in the closet. It’s all the places he planned to go on his motorcycle.”

James looked so forlorn in that moment that Teddy couldn’t help but reach over and grab his hand. They may not have fought in the war, may not remember the actual bloodshed, but their lives were both completely intertwined with the war and its aftermath. The war shaped them both in a way it hadn’t for others their age.

James was named after the dead, and Teddy had his parents ripped from his life before he was old enough to understand the consequences that would have.

“It’s a great map, Jamie.”

“We’ve been to some of the places he marked, but we’re also doing our own thing, mapping out our own places to see.”

“The Marauders would be proud of you, you know.” Teddy knew that was true, knew that Sirius and James especially would see so much of themselves in the man sitting in front of him.

James gave him a shrewd look. “I imagine your father as being a lot like you.”

Teddy nodded; it was probably true — it was one of the reasons Teddy missed him so much. From what he knew about Remus, the man was insecure and had a hard time letting people in, not unlike Teddy. But he had managed to overcome that, somehow, and gain the friendship and loyalty of the other Marauders. Even Peter, for a time.

He’d been able to find love, Teddy believed, with Tonks. Teddy hoped he could do the same, eventually.

“We’re heading to the Dragon’s Den next,” James said, bringing Teddy’s attention back to the map in front of them as he traced their path with his finger. “It’s located under the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków, Poland.”

Teddy nodded. “We have a long day ahead of us, then.”

“It’s about twelve hours of driving. Figure we’ll get there and sleep, then go to the cave in the morning.”


	5. 50°03'14.4"N 19°56'07.4"E

The drive was long but uneventful, passing through Austria on their way to Poland. Teddy took over driving in Vienna, and James took control of the music. He seemed intent on finding all the songs on Teddy’s CDs that Teddy had no intention of playing, songs he didn’t even remember burning to the discs.

_If you only knew our love is just another shade of blue_  
_He feels the same way that I do_  
_I wish you only knew_  
_If you only saw_  
_His eyes light up like I adore_  
_His smile on me then nothing more_  
_I wish you only saw_

Teddy was glad when they arrived, happy to be out of the car and away from the love songs James wouldn’t stop playing. Teddy knew he was the one to blame — not only was it his music to begin with, but he was clearly just reading too deeply into the situation, looking for something that wasn’t there in the looks James had been giving him.

All the small moments of the trip, the weeks they had spent together, were beginning to coalesce in Teddy’s mind, but he thought the image they were forming had to be incorrect. James didn’t, couldn’t, like him. Not like that.

They sat on a little hill outside the castle for what felt like ages while James explained the history of this latest location.

“This cave — and the dragon that lived in it — are famous in Polish folklore. The earliest version of the tale came in the thirteenth century, and said that the dragon who lived in this cave was defeated during the rule of Krakus, by his sons. In a later version, the slaying was attributed to a cobbler named Skuba.”

Teddy nodded, doing his best to pay attention to James’ words. Even when the mouth that was speaking them was so distracting.

“Now, the question of who slayed the dragon isn’t important, not for our purposes. What’s important to us is that this was the last dragon of its kind; when they killed it, the entire species went extinct.”

“That’s horrible,” Teddy said, looking at the cave in front of them. Rain had started to fall, and they were sitting on the hill alone, in a couple of obnoxiously bright rain jackets that James had packed for them.

James nodded. “The Wawel Spiketail was one of the earliest dragons to exist in the magical world. As more and more humans moved into the ares, the dragon lost its habitat. Magizoologists have studied them extensively, and believe that the dragon may have had some insanely powerful healing properties, but we’ll never know for sure.”

It was truly sad, how magical creatures were treated by the wizarding population — while species weren’t going extinct quite like that anymore, they still weren’t being treated well.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

The cave was low and narrow, a series of small steps leading them down into the darkness. The rain was effective in keeping the crowd away, as they were the only ones entering the cave, the only ones around there at all. James went first, taking the slick steps slowly, careful not to trip and slide to the bottom.

Teddy, apparently, didn’t have the same concern. He started down the steps only a moment after James, all gangly limbs and apparent lack of finesse, slipping on the fourth-to-last stair.

As soon as he reached the bottom, James found himself in a Teddy-shaped bear hug, three of Teddy’s limbs wrapped around James’ — somehow — still standing body and Teddy’s head of lavender hair awkwardly tucked into the back of James’ neck.

James paused, trying to hold his balance, and it took a moment for him to tell whether Teddy was laughing or crying.

“Are you … Are you okay?” James stood stock still, not moving as Teddy wheezeed behind him.

“I’m great,” Teddy answered. He was laughing, James could hear the smile in his voice. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, it seems you just tried to kill me in a cave.”

Teddy’s laugh was loud and sharp, too much life in it for the dark cave. He gently released James from his death grip, but held onto his shoulders as he turned him around.

It took a minute for the laughter to stop, then it was too quiet — James could feel the staccato rhythm of his heartbeat as it pounded in his chest, could feel everything. The moment stopped as Teddy looked at James; amber eyes meet hazel, and James couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t pull away even as Teddy moved closer, pulled by some unknown force as they stood in the damp cave, neither laughing. There was nothing funny about what was going to happen, what they both knew was coming.

Their lips met slowly, cautiously, every gentle press of Teddy’s a question in which James answered with a press of his own. He let out a soft moan, and the sound was too much for the cave, for the moment, but all was not lost — Teddy took it as an invitation, took James’ lips as a gift and opened them, licking at the seam to part them and then their tongues were touching. Teddy tasted like rainwater and the ice cream they ate earlier, and James couldn’t believe what was happening.

They parted as slowly as they had began, James’ heart still pounding, but then there was another matching his tempo. He could feel it — feel Teddy’s pulsepoint from his hand around the back of Teddy’s neck, from where their chests were pressed together.

He could feel Teddy’s breath against his face; they may no longer be connected, but neither had moved far. He was close enough to count the small number of freckles gracing Teddy’s cheeks, close enough to see when the doubt started creeping into Teddy’s eyes, into his expression.

“Jamie,” Teddy breathed. James knew, in that singular moment, that Teddy had the power to break his heart. He’d never been more sure of anything. “We — I shouldn’t have done that.”

And there it was. James could feel it — it didn’t shatter, nothing as clichéd as that, but it felt like his soul was being ripped from his body, like a Dementor was performing the Kiss, sucking out all of his good memories.

“Don’t make it sound like I wasn’t a more than willing participant.” James could feel the thinly-veiled anger in his own voice.

“Jamie.” Teddy said it softly, as if it took all his effort.

James could hear the hurt behind the word, but couldn’t bring himself to dwell on it.

Teddy, it seemed, didn’t care that James’ heart was breaking, didn’t care that his whole world had been shifted and shattered in the span of a few moments. He closed the distance between them once more, wrapping his arms around James’ shoulders. James’ head buried itself into the crook of Teddy’s neck with no encouragement, breathing him in.

James could feel the tears start to fall, could feel the tightness in his throat and the wetness in his eyes, but Teddy was kind enough not to comment. He didn’t say anything as James sniffled, or when James wrapped his own arms around Teddy’s waist, holding him tight.

The embrace lasted longer than the kiss, standing in the dim light of the den.

It wasn’t what James had wanted to happen, wasn’t what he expected from the day, but standing there with Teddy, he realised it could have been so much worse.

He hadn’t lost his best friend, his partner-in-crime, his confidante. But he had lost a piece of himself.

* * *

The rest of the day was as awkward as it could be, as Teddy proceeded to ignore James, distance himself as much as possible from the moment they left the cave.

The kiss had eclipsed the destination, Teddy’s rejection more important than the actual sight. James tried to take it in, tried to pay attention to the sloping walls and tried to imagine a dragon living there, claiming the cave as its own, but he couldn’t focus on anything besides the feeling of hurt, welling up inside him.

There was a statue just outside of the cave, meant to breathe fire. But seeing as it was still raining and they were the only two there, the attraction wasn’t working that day. Just as well though; it wasn’t as if the dragon would boost James’ mood.

They had wandered around the water, done a bit of exploring, and it was time to head back to the hotel. The air was thick with all the things they weren’t saying, all the half-truths of the trip coming back to haunt them both, and James couldn’t take it anymore.

They had almost reached Gus, ready to go back to the hotel and sleep when James rounded on Teddy, stopping him short.

“Why did you kiss me, Teddy?”

“Jamie,” Teddy started to speak.

“No, actually, that’s not what I want to know.” James was pissed, knew his voice showed it. His voice was flat, his words sharp. “Why did you pull away?”

“Because it wasn’t right — one of us needed to stop it before it went any further.”

“No — no! Fuck, Teddy, you’re telling me we need to stop? After the bed sharing and the cuddling, the mixtapes where almost every song was a love song? After calling me Jamie, and looking at me like that,” James yelled, gesturing wildly to Teddy. “You can’t tell me that none of that meant anything!”

“That’s not what I said.” Teddy sounded exhausted.

“It’s what you were going to say.”

Teddy sighed. “Your dad asked me to come to watch out for you, not take advantage of you.”

“You think you’re taking advantage of me? Bloody hell, Teddy, I’m not some kid who doesn’t know what he wants.”

“What do you want?”

James was shaking, angrier at Teddy than he’d ever been, even when Teddy had left for London. “You! Teddy, I’ve always wanted you.”

Teddy’s eyes widened and his hair flashed cotton candy blue. “You can’t. You can’t want me.”

“Merlin, Teddy.” James was exhausted. Tired of the fighting, of trying to control how he acted every step of the trip — show Teddy that he liked him, that he wanted him there without giving himself away. He was tired of the lies. “I want you, how hard is that for you to accept?”

“I barely know who I am — how can you want someone you don’t know?”

“I know you,” James said, earnest in his confession. “I know how you take your tea in the morning, and that the Hufflepuff shirt you sleep in belonged to your mother. You have a handful of wizarding tattoos that you like to morph away and three Muggle ones. Your eyes crinkle when you laugh and that’s one of the only times you can’t control their colour, not that you change it much anymore.”

James took a moment to gather his thoughts, gather his courage and lay it all out on the table. “I know you, Teddy. Am I so wrong in thinking that maybe, just maybe, this is something you want too?”

James took a deep breath as Teddy stood before him, stunned silent by James’ outburst.

“You don’t have to answer right now. But please, just consider it.”

With so much said, James had nothing left. He climbed into the car, Teddy following a moment later, and they drove in silence back to the hotel.

* * *

It was still dark when James first woke up, drawn to consciousness by someone shifting around him. Teddy. James worked to extract himself from Teddy’s grip, pull himself out of Teddy’s arms.

“Jamie?” The arms around him instinctively tightened, then let go. Teddy’s voice was soft, still sleepy as he spoke. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

James let out a laugh, too loud for the room, too loud in the dark. “I wasn’t uncomfortable. I just didn’t want you to feel awkward in the morning.”

There was no answer, so James sighed and and adjusted the duvet over him, assuming Teddy had fallen back to sleep, before a tentative hand found his chest.

“Don’t question it, okay?” Teddy said, his breath warm against James’ neck.

He moved back to how he had been, wrapping an arm across James’ chest and resting his head on James’ chest. James was sure Teddy could hear the sound of his heartbeat as it raced through his chest. He knew Teddy was awake, could feel him squirming as he found a comfortable position.

“Jamie,” Teddy whispered, “What happened to us?”

They laid there, wrapped together for comfort and warmth, and James couldn’t bring himself to answer.

He couldn’t say it was the fault of the ill-advised kiss, because the problems had started long before that. Couldn’t say it was Teddy’s fault for leaving, for spending all that time in London, because that wasn’t fair. It was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.

The truth, as James was beginning to realise, was much more complicated than that, much more complicated than he had thought.

James sighed and rubbed Teddy’s arm where it was thrown across his stomach.

Maybe it was James’ fault too; maybe he had cut Teddy out because he was dealing with his own insecurities.

Maybe it was an innocent drifting apart, even though it had felt like James’ heart had been ripped out when it happened. When he realised he couldn’t firecall Teddy at any minute of the day, couldn’t Floo over to Andromeda’s and race up to Teddy’s room, he had sat in his bed and cried.

He never really considered that Teddy may have been suffering just as much; it was hard to see past your own pain, that James was sure of.

They fell asleep like that, tangled together on James’ side of the bed with the question hanging in the air, unanswered.


	6. 50°29'27.2"N 14°37'26.4"E

In the morning, James didn’t mention how he woke with Teddy’s leg between his own, his chest pressed haphazardly against Teddy’s own. And Teddy didn’t mention it either.

The awkwardness, the aftermath of the fight, was still there. James could sense it in his periphery, only just out of sight, but they both worked hard to make everything seem normal as they left, a five and a half hour trip ahead of them.

To cover the uncomfortableness, James was louder and more enthusiastic than he usually was, and Teddy worked to laugh more than he had all trip.

It wasn’t fixed, not even close, but James appreciated the effort.

He reached for the volume dial on the CD player Teddy had magicked to play, turning it down so he could hear himself think.

Teddy was looking at the map, holding it gingerly by its worn edges. It was one of James’ most prized possessions; when he found it in Grimmauld Place, he knew he needed to have it.

“Houska Castle, huh? That’s stop number six?”

James nodded. “Ever heard of it?”

Teddy scrunched up his nose as he thought, a gesture so incredibly unique to Teddy that it always made James’ heart hurt.

“Sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Tell me about it?”

“It’s believed to be one of the most haunted locations in the world, but only because Muggles don’t understand it. The castle is on a steep, rocky cliff, surrounded by forests, swamps and sandstone mountains. No one actually knows who built the castle, but it wasn’t built to house anyone — that much is clear.”

“Why would someone build a castle that no one was meant to live in?”

“That’s a great question, Tedward,” James said, flashing him a grin. Teddy hated the nickname, but he’d learned to live with it.

“Folklore says it was built to keep something in. Legend has it that the castle was constructed over a large hole in the ground — a bottomless pit. Muggles call it the ‘Gateway to Hell.’”

Teddy groaned. “They come up with the most ridiculous names for things they can’t understand.”

James laughed. “Keep listening, the tale gets worse. It’s told that the hole is so deep that no one could see the bottom of it, but half-animal, half-human creatures would crawl out of it during the night. Black-winged creatures used to attack locals and drag them down the hole.”

“Thestrals?”

“I bet that’s what people saw, though it hasn’t been confirmed that they live around here. And it won’t matter to us, seeing as neither of us can see them.”

Teddy nodded. Harry said it was a great accomplishment that they had both graduated Hogwarts without being able to see the winged creatures.

“They say the castle’s chapel was built directly over the mysterious pit, in order to seal the evil in. There’s lots of ghost stories from people who have dared to spend the night — they say there’s scratching from the floor, or that you can hear screams from beneath your feet.” James shrugged. “They claim that cars won’t start either.”

“Sounds like a lot of shite, made up to scare children.”

“Ah, but there may be some truth to it. The beasts they see — we assume — as Thestrals, as well as possibly some other magical creatures. And having cars that can’t start is likely, considering the castle is located on the largest collection of ley lines in Europe.”

“That doesn’t explain the ‘bottomless pit’ though.”

“There was an earthquake, ages and ages ago, before this castle was built. In wizarding circles, it’s rumoured that the earth above the ley lines caved in, allowing some of the magic to seep out. The castle was constructed by wizards to stop Muggles from finding the magic, to stop them from finding anything suspicious about the area.”

“That clearly worked well.”

James laughed. “It was absolutely uneffective; the castle wasn’t well-done enough to look like it belonged, and enough magic had already seeped out that weird things have continued to happen in the area.”

They were nearing the castle, having driven through Poland and into Czechia. They were in the forest now, and Teddy had grown disinterested with the map, instead focussing on the trees.

“What else do you think lives out here?”

James shrugged. “I talked to Hagrid about it before I graduated — he thought the woods here were probably a bit like the Forbidden Forest at school, with a variety of creatures, both Muggle and magical, living in them.”

Teddy turned, catching James’ eye, a slight frown on his face. “How long had you been planning this?

“Since I found the map, really. I knew I wanted to do some big trip, then a friend at school talked about having taken a Muggle road trip with his dads and I realised that’s what I wanted.”

“You never mentioned it to me.”

James sighed, not ready for the inevitable fight. He could feel it building, feel it coming. “You were in London. You weren’t returning my letters, Teddy — how was I supposed to tell you?”

“James, you don’t understand.”

The problem was, James fully understood. He was loud and cocky, the jock and the swot, the one who everyone thought was good and capable. Sometimes, he was none of those things.

Like anyone else, James got angry, upset, wanted to be selfish and mean. But he had to set an example for his siblings, his cousins; he had to appear aloof and untouchable in front of the press, otherwise they would find his weakness and dig into it, like a parasite in a wound.

He understood why Teddy had left, why he had run away, maybe better than anyone else. He understood the need to be free; free from expectations, from family, from everything. He wasn’t angry that Teddy left, necessarily. He was angry that Teddy had left without him.

“You ran away and left me behind, Teddy. What more is there to understand?”

“I needed time —”

“I know. But I needed you.”

“Jamie,” Teddy started, his voice cracking with emotion.

“Look, you’re allowed to be selfish. You’re allowed to go off and do what you want. But you weren’t there to talk to when I figured out I was queer; you weren’t there when Al was being bullied or my parents considered a divorce,” James said, his voice devoid of any anger.

“You weren’t there, Teddy. I’m glad you took care of yourself, I really am, but you can’t pretend to understand everything about me — to know everything about me — when you missed some major chapters in my life. Those were defining moments, and you missed them. You missed them.”

“I want to be a part of your life,” Teddy whispered. He had the sleeves of his light jumper over his hands, and James was surprised to notice he was crying.

“Look, you are. No one else was invited along on this barmy road trip, were they?”

Teddy laughed, wiping his eyes as he did so. “Harry invited me, not you. That’s a bit different.”

“Teddy — I’ve never not wanted you in my life. It just hurt when you left, okay?”

It was quiet for a bit as they drove, getting ever closer to the castle.

“I wasn’t trying to get away from you, you know. I moved in with Muggles and a Squib to get away from magic, not you, Jamie. Don’t you understand? I needed to get away from the wizarding world, to get away from myself.”

“Magic is in your veins, Teddy Lupin, one day you’ll have to accept that.”

Teddy took a deep breath. “Well I’m back, aren’t I?”

“Yeah,” James smiled. “You’re back.”

They could feel the magic swirling around them as they parked, could feel it trying to reach out and interact with their own. It wasn’t as pure as the magic at Stonehenge, but not as evil as the remnants of magic at Poveglia. It wasn’t neutral, James wouldn’t go that far, but he didn’t quite mind it.

More than anything, the magic seemed to be curious.

The two of them walked up to the castle together, shoulders bumping against each other as they made their way. James had always been jealous — even without morphing, Teddy was a couple of inches taller.

“Rumour has it Merlin himself came here, maybe even stayed in the castle,” James said, as they stared at the beautiful architecture in front of them. “It would have been near the end of his life, but if any magician could make sense of this much magic, it would have been him.”

“We going in?”

James laughed. “Of course! Why else would we have driven all this way?”

They walked around the outside of the castle, searching for an open door or a broken window that they could climb through to gain entry into the castle. There were many windows, but most of them were fake — adding to the mystery of the castle.

Finally though, they found an unlocked door and were able to climb in. Because so many of the windows didn’t actually let in the light, the castle was extremely dark, more so than expected.

James pulled his wand and cast _Lumos_. He may not have believed the legends and the folklore, but he wasn’t going to wander blind in a castle that was at the center of so many ghost stories. It didn’t have the same hunted, tortured feel as the island, nor did it feel like anywhere else they had been.

Everything was old; the wallpaper was peeling, the rooms full of cobwebs but devoid of any furniture. There were a few massive, ornate frames, but when James shined his wand at them, they were empty.

As they walked through, closer to the center with every twist and turn, the magic started to become overwhelming.

James felt a hand on his shoulder and almost panicked before realising it was just Teddy. “Merlin — are you trying to give me a bloody heart attack?”

Teddy didn’t laugh. “I think we should go, James. I don’t think we’re alone here.”

They stood, motionless for a moment, Teddy’s hand still on James’ shoulder, and James felt it. Teddy was right; there was something else here, something bigger and older than the both of them.

“Yeah, okay.” James turned, grabbed Teddy’s hand and started pulling before he had even finished talking. “ Let’s go.”

They made short work of finding an exit, climbing out a window, one of the few real ones, that they hadn’t noticed earlier, desperate to be out and away from the castle. Gus wouldn’t start when they got back, so Teddy pushed while James steered, just enough to get them away from the magical vortex seeming to surround the castle.

It was a relief to be out, to be away. James hadn’t realised it before Teddy pointed it out, but there had definitely been something there. He could feel where its magic had touched his own, and the sensation was less than pleasant.

There were no injuries though, so as they drove away, he was still counting the trip as a success.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

Back in the car, Teddy couldn’t help but focus on their earlier conversation. The castle had been a sufficient distraction while they were there, but now his mind had come back to it.

He didn’t regret moving to London — couldn’t regret it. It had been good for him; it allowed him to grow and to start figuring himself out. He had stopped feeling the pressure to morph himself every morning, had started to figure out how he was, with the features he was born with. It gave him the opportunity to see who he was without magic, to step away from the wizarding world and see if he actually had a place in it. He was still struggling with that, if he was being honest, but he realised that he couldn’t stay away.

Still, it seemed that realisation may have come too late: It was starting to seem that his time in London had cost him a great deal, that it had cost him James. He wanted, more than anything, to fix that.

He turned, suddenly, to face James in the car. “We’re okay, aren’t we? I mean —”

James cut him off. “No,” he said softly. “But I think we’re finally getting there.”

Teddy would take it. Even if the fixing of their relationship was slow, it was occuring. The trip had been good for them, for him, and it wasn’t over yet.

And if did they ended up cuddled together in the hotel bed, well, no one else was there to see it.


	7. 55°22'57.0"N 14°03'16.9"E

It was difficult, waking up and knowing that this was the last leg of the trip, the last destination before they packed up and headed home. Teddy knew there was still so much to discuss, to figure out.

His own feelings were at the top of the list.

He’d always loved Jamie, and after cuddling, after the kiss in the Dragon’s Den, he had realised how unplatonic those feelings truly were. Honestly, Teddy suspected he’d known for a while, but like so many things in his life, it was easier to ignore than to confront the feelings, to face the possibility of rejection.

Though it was almost scarier knowing that James wouldn’t reject him — that much was clear, but the basis of their relationship would still be irrevocably shifted. They couldn’t go back to how they were before, how they were now.

Teddy woke up with James curled around him, almost as if he was afraid Teddy would leave if given the opportunity. But Teddy wouldn’t leave again, at least, not without James. He couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t need time away from magic, away from the wizarding world, but he didn’t need time away from James.

He sighed into Jamie’s hair, running his hands through the tangled strands. Teddy could feel James stirring with the movement, could feel when he woke up and tensed, as if he was unsure if his position was okay. Teddy kept stroking James’ hair, his fingers massaging the scalp and he softly shushed James when the other man began to speak. They didn’t need words right now.

It was over eleven hours from where they were in Czechia to where they were going in Sweden. James was most excited about this last stop, Teddy could tell, though he didn’t yet know why. They passed through Dresden and Berlin, before making their way into Denmark.

James drove the whole way, and Teddy took the opportunity to choose some of his favourite love songs with purpose. He didn’t have the words, in that moment, to tell Jamie how much he meant to him, but he had every intention of showing him.

_Or do you not think so far ahead?_  
_Cause I been thinkin' bout forever, ooh_  
_Yes, of course, I remember, how could I forget how you feel?_  
_You know you were my first time, a new feel_  
_It won't ever get old, not in my soul, not in my spirit, keep it alive_  
_We'll go down this road 'til it turns from colour to black and white_

They drove through Denmark, into the tunnel and over the bridge and they were in Sweden. It had been a long, exhausting day, even though they hadn’t done much of anything.

When James parked the car, miles away from anything, Teddy started to see why he was excited.  
“I thought this might be a nice place to finish off the trip,” James said.

He was fidgeting slightly, running his fingers through his hair, and Teddy could see that this meant something to him.

“Looks lovely, Jamie.”

And it did. They were parked in front of a little cabin, right next to the Baltic Sea. The view alone was gorgeous, and Teddy was sure the inside of the cabin would be nice and cosy.

When they climbed into bed, there was no pretense, no need to discuss it: Teddy laid down and opened his arms, and James climbed into them.

Morning came and Teddy drifted in and out of sleep. James seemed to be in no rush to get up and get started on their final journey, so Teddy let sleep claim him. They were tangled together under the blankets — it had been cold in the cabin during the night, but Teddy would be lying if he said that was the only reason they were so close, so intertwined. He was starting to get used to sharing a bed with Jamie, would miss it when it stopped.

They spent the day hanging out around the cabin, exploring some trails and swimming in the afternoon. James stripped his shirt off without ceremony, always confident in his body. He had every reason to be — Teddy stood in appreciation for a few moments before following suit, admiring the jut of James’ hips and the freckles that cascaded down his back.

There were so many freckles, and Teddy wanted to touch every single one of them.

When evening fell, the last of the sun’s light fading beyond the horizon, James’ announced it was time to go. Time to go to the seventh wizarding wonder.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

James took hold of Teddy’s hand as they exited the car. Whatever had been building between them over the course of the past month or so — whatever beautiful, dangerous, terrifyingly brilliant thing; well, James was ready to face it. To confront it. To bring the late night touches and kisses into the light, or at least to the outdoors.

Teddy had to know how James felt — James knew he’d been less and less subtle as the days had worn on, but the rejection of their shared kiss still burned on his lips.

The moon was just a crescent, but the light from it wasn’t necessary.

“Jamie,” Teddy whispered. “Where are you taking me?”

“To see the stars.”

Teddy didn’t let go of his hand. James took that as encouragement.

“Did you know that there’s a meteor shower going on? The peak is yesterday, tonight and tomorrow. There’s supposed to be about sixty shooting stars every hour.”

Teddy grinned. “I know about the Perseids, Jamie — you do remember I was raised by a Black? The family known for being named after stars?”

James felt his smile slip slightly. He wanted to make the night special for Teddy; wanted to show Teddy how much James cared for him. He wanted to seem smart, witty, full of new information.

Teddy seemed to sense that.

“Why come here?” There seemed to be an unspoken rule that they needed to whisper. The wind whipped around them as they climbed the steps on the hill, up and up and up. It was the only other sound breaking the silence of the night. “Is there something special about this place and the stars?”

James shrugged as he pulled Teddy along. “This is Ale’s Stones. For a long time, it’s been thought that the structure — fifty-nine boulders — was a burial monument. But now, it’s thought that it may be something more like Stonehenge, an astronomical calendar.

“The wizards know though, what the true purpose of it was. This used to be a major wizarding area, and they set this up, in the shape of a ship, as the first line of defense against incoming attackers. This worked with the wizards’ own magic to tell them if an approaching ship was a friend or foe, giving them time to prepare for intruders.”

“Why did we come at night, Jamie?”

“I knew it would be an amazing view.” James paused for a moment, formulating his thoughts. “Dad used to take me out stargazing, when I was little, and even when I was not so little. Al would look at the plants, wander around us in the trees, or by the beach. And Lily was never really interested — she and Mum would play pick-up Quidditch in the dark while we were gone with the Glow Snitch Fred and George invented.

“It was my time with him. He was always so busy, with cases and Ministry events and everything else going on in his life. It’s not that I wasn’t a priority, but at times.” He shrugged again leaving the rest unspoken. “Sorry, I know that was a lot to drop on you, but we would always go out to see the Perseids. It was magical, before I could really do my own magic.”

Teddy stopped, causing James’ arm to jerk and them to end up face-to-face. “Never apologise for sharing something about yourself with me, Jamie, I’m always here for you.”

“I know, Teddy,” James said, his eyes glancing between Teddy’s eyes and his lips. They were so close, and he felt like they were both being drawn forward.

Teddy took a small step, foot slipping and upsetting a few rocks. The moment was over, and James once again pulled Teddy along.

It took a bit of climbing, but eventually, James and Teddy made it to Ale’s Stones. The last of the seven stops. They still would have the drive back to spend time together, but James knew it wouldn’t be the same.

It was only a couple more nights. Something had shifted in James’ perspective: Instead of having the majority of the trip to be excited about, nervous energy overflowing, it was now coming to an end. With each hour they spent driving now, James felt his chances at having something real — something romantic — with Teddy slipping away like the mile markers in his rearview mirror.

At the top, in the middle of the stone arrangement, James laid out the blanket, pulled from his bag, which was an old present from his Aunt Hermione.

James pulled Teddy down, and they laid together, touching from shoulder to thighs with their hands loosely intertwined in the middle. He could feel Teddy breathing, feel every move that he made in the dark. It was exhilarating — it was terrifying, and it reaffirmed how he already knew he felt.

The silence wasn’t heavy, no awkwardness weighing over them as they watched the stars above them. James was focussed on the sky, eyes scanning to find the shooting stars. It took him a moment to see that Teddy was watching something else.

A star shot across the sky, leaving a glowing tail behind it as it soared, a fireball of space dust millions of miles above their heads. James loved how small it made him feel, how insignificant. He had come out to his dad when they were stargazing, after a moment of realising that nothing he did would have an affect on the universe.

He was stuck with the same sense of recklessness — the same burning desire to say something, do something and not care about the consequences.

James turned to his side, caught Teddy already looking at him.

“I’ve been in love with you since I knew what love was, Teddy.”

Teddy nodded, his smile sad. “I know.” And then, to James’ delight, he leaned in, capturing James’ lips with his own.

James was too shocked to respond immediately; it took a moment before he returned Teddy’s advances, his own lips eager against Teddy’s, working to deepen the kiss like his life depended on it.

It started to get heated and James could feel his heart ready to bust out of his chest. He rolled over, straddling Teddy. James could feel Teddy’s solid form, his chest beneath James’ own as he leaned down to reconnect their mouths, tongues moving sensually against each other.

Someone moaned, but James was too far gone to know if it was him. Everything he had, everything he felt, he was putting into that moment, into that kiss. Teddy was the one to break it, both of them breathing heavily.

“Let’s just take it slow, okay?”

James nodded, rolling over to lie next to Teddy. He could do slow. Slow wasn’t a no, wasn’t rejection.

t l . j p . t l . j p . t l . j p

The next morning, Teddy found James sitting outside on the porch, clutching a mug full of coffee to his chest.

“Hey, Jamie,” he said. His voice was soft, but it carried well in the silence.

Teddy was still worried that James would regret last night — maybe he realised Teddy wasn’t as special as he thought, maybe he had changed his mind about the whole thing, but his fears were unfounded.

James looked up at the sound of Teddy’s voice, a blindingly bright smile across his face, his freckles standing out against his skin in the early morning light.

“Hey there, Ted.” He held out a hand, pulling Teddy down next to him when Teddy grabbed it.

Teddy had planned a speech when he was in the shower this morning, planned to ask if James was okay and explain that he still wanted to be friends when the inevitable rejection came, but now he understood that none of that would be necessary.

James wasn’t upset.

He didn’t regret last night.

They were closer than they’d been in years, maybe ever.

They would be okay, he knew that.

He was staring at James, couldn’t help himself. James was beautiful like this, wearing his joggers and Teddy’s stolen Hufflepuff shirt, the light bouncing off his cheekbones and highlighting his hazel eyes. His hair ruffled with the breeze and he bit his lip as they felt the cold start to settle into their bones.

He knew he was being soppy, knew that James would tease him endlessly if he noticed — but James’ attention was elsewhere.

“Teddy?” He asked, his voice trailing off.

“Mm, what’s up?”

“Do you —”

“Yes,” Teddy breathed. He saw what had captured James, what was drawing his attention.

In the distance, standing at the edge of the Baltic, was a strange looking animal, a single horn protruding upwards from its forehead.

They watched it in silence for what seemed like forever, though probably wasn’t more than four or five minutes. It was beautiful, with slow, graceful movements. It managed to simultaneously fit in perfectly and stand completely out of place.

“It’s . . .”

The creature ambled off, heading into the long grass and disappeared into the line of trees to their right. Teddy looked at James, both of them flabbergasted.

“That was,” Teddy started.

James nodded. “A Crumple-Horned Snorkack.”

They sat there in awe, for a moment, taking in the fact that they had just seen a creature that most wizards didn’t believe existed.

James laughed, drawing Teddy back. “Luna’s going to be so jealous.”

“Yes, but it’s Luna; it’s not like she needs to see it to believe wholeheartedly in it. She’s good about that — having faith in things she couldn’t possibly know.”

James’ hand found Teddy’s own, and Teddy gave it a gentle squeeze, a reminder that they were both here. Together.

He couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop the pull, so he leaned in and kissed James, bringing his free hand up to caress James’ cheek, the freckles there.

It was the end of the trip, the beginning of what had the potential to be the greatest relationship either of them had ever been a part of.

“Is there a time we need to leave by?”

James shook his head.

“Good,” Teddy growled, before deepening the kiss and drawing a moan out of Jamie.

They stood and stumbled back into the house, into the bedroom, the coffee left forgotten to cool in the August morning.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is part of the 2018 HP Next Gen Fest. The creator will be revealed on November 30.


End file.
